One of the most difficult aspects of golf is learning to release, or unhinge, the wrists at the correct point in the swing. For some, it is possible to time the club head release correctly using various swing training devices or using the age-old method of holding the club upside down and listening for the club handle “whoosh” sound. Even so, it can be difficult to integrate these exercises into a regular golf swing. To make matters worse, the faster most novice golfers swing, the greater the tendency to cast the club, or to release the club too soon in the swing. A golfer may be able to time a slow swing, but as swing speeds increase so does the difficulty with properly releasing the club head.
A number of devices and methods have been developed to assist a golfer in learning how to swing a golf club effectively. U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,057 comprises a golf club with two built-in whistles perpendicular and parallel to the club head. U.S. Pat. No. 1,549,350 is an invention that permanently screws a whistle into the top of or onto the face of a golf club iron or driver. However, in both of these devices the whistles are embedded into a golf club and therefore cannot be removed and/or attached to other clubs. Additionally, the whistles have no means of being calibrated to the club head speed. It is therefore neither possible to make the whistle sound at slower swing speeds nor pre-calibrate or adjust an increasing minimum club head speed at which a properly executed swing will result in an audible sound.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,530 comprises of a whistle and suction cup that may be affixed to the top of a golf club driver. This invention, though removable, can only be attached to a golf club driver and not to an iron. Additionally, it lacks in the manner previously mentioned concerning U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,283,057 and 1,549,350 in that it has no means to pre-set or adjust the device to sound at increasingly faster swing speeds.
The “Swing Whistle” sold on www.swingwhistle.com is a hollow tube that attaches to a golf club hosel and creates a whistle effect as the club head begins to release in the swing. With this device there is no moment of truth during the swing when there is a clear and distinct sound; it is more of a high pitched whoosh over an indiscrete time frame in the swing. The device makes little to no sound at higher swing speeds and sounds whether or not the club head is square to the swing path. Consequently, the device neither provides clear guidance as to the proper club head speed nor orientation at the correct time in the swing. Additionally, it lacks in the manner previously mentioned concerning U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,283,057, 1,549,350 and 3,730,530 in that it has no means to pre-set or adjust the device to sound at increasingly faster swing speeds.
What is needed is a device and method that will provide an indicator, such as an audible sound, to alert the golfer when the club head is traveling at a certain speed and in the proper orientation at the moment of contact with the ball. Being able to hear exactly at what point in the swing the club head releases and squares to the swing path and knowing that the sound simultaneously indicates that the club head is travelling at a certain speed, would provide the golfer with invaluable feedback. This would allow the golfer to practice swinging the club faster and faster knowing not only that the club head is reaching a minimum swing speed but that it is squaring to the swing path and is releasing at the correct time in the swing.